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Thursday, September 02, 2010

Klaxons - Surfing The Void

BobbySix.com is excitedly heading to Sydney's Enmore Theatre tonight to see Klaxons, meaning their brand new album has been getting plenty of spins in preparation.

Amongst all of the hearsay about whether or not their first attempt at a second album was rejected by their label, Surfing The Void has been a long time coming, which makes it all the more strange that, musically, it essentially follows directly on from their debut, Myths of the Near Future. Looking back, it seems a shame that their first record was hyped beyond belief - with all the new-rave nonsense that the band never wanted anything to do with anyway - because it overshadowed what was actually a very good pop record which has stood the test of time. So, while we all half-expected Klaxons to come back with a brand new sound - be it an evolution or otherwise - we should probably have expected them to continue with what they do best.

And so, rather than wheel reinvention, we have satisfactory continuity. Surfing The Void offers the same tried-and-trusted formula that Klaxons have built their reputation on. They mix hard, fast, and slightly mental guitar-led dance music with big pop choruses and harmonies and then throw in a few lyrics that don't really make sense but that sound awesome. All of which creates thrilling apocalyptic pop anthems.

Opener Echoes is an example of this. A slightly rougher and heavier relative of Golden Skans (which, if you hadn't realised, was borrowing from Madonna's Hung Up - which itself was covering ABBA), it shows why Klaxons have always referred to themselves as a pop band. For the remainder of the album, pop sensibilities continue to clash with indie, punk and rave edges. This literal mashing of genres makes for an exhilarating, madcap record that constantly threatens to fall apart in a clatter of noise and exuberance but always just about manages to hold it together.

There aren't the obvious singles that Myths of the Near Future boasted, but fans of that ambitious debut will be more than happy with what Klaxons, finally, came up with next.